Raindrops
by reckless-rage
Summary: Raindrops are chilly, but Fuji liked the feel.' Dedicated to Vio-chan. One-shot regarding Fuji and Ryoma's relationship, and how it ended. Mild angst and warning!Character death. Written for the POT forum's Royal Flush challenge.


**Written for the Royal Flush challenge. Prompt by Vio-chan: Raindrops are chilly, but Fuji liked the feel. I dedicate this little oneshot/drabble to Vio-chan, if you wouldn't mind me dedicating this piece of rag to you. Warning: character death and probably OOCness. Thank you.**

Raindrops are chilly, but Fuji liked the feel of them against his skin.

--

The first time they had truly met, the first time they recognized each other as something more than just team mates, it had been in the rain. The sound of a soaked tennis ball slamming onto the courts still rang vividly through Fuji's mind. The exhilaration of finding someone who could_ really_ challenge his capabilities had been thrilling, intoxicating.

Then he realized; he would ask for Ryoma, and settle for nothing less.

The first time that Fuji had held Ryoma in his arms had also taken part under a weepy sky, the tensai remembered. The feeling of raindrops sliding off his skin hadn't bothered him at all as he searched for the boy who had stalked off after losing a match to someone Fuji hadn't recognized at that time. He had hunted around for Ryoma, not caring that he would most certainly catch a cold the next morning; the only thought he had running through his mind was one of concern for the boy's well-being.

He found Ryoma twenty minutes later, wet and miserable at one of those secluded park spots, and gathered him into his arms. He understood instinctively that Ryoma's pride would be sore and hurt after a humiliating loss, and tactfully said nothing as he hugged the small body to him, feeling the angry trembling that shook Ryoma's body. The boy didn't cry – he was too proud for that – but it was the unexpected loss that Ryoma was finding hard to accept for now.

Although the boy had not admitted it at that time, and never said a word of it in future conversations, understanding was what Ryoma's wounded pride had needed and craved for. He needed someone who could understand him his Echizen Ryoma and not view him as the son of Echizen Nanjiroh; he needed someone who understood that Ryoma would and could lose important matches, that Ryoma was not all-perfect.

The someone was a post Fuji had volunteered to fill.

They shared their first soft kiss in the rain, the clear drops mingling with their heat and passion.

They ate their burgers under the shelter of a bus stop, admiring the crystal raindrops that splashed in pretty rainbow colours on the dark pavement.

They played more than one tennis match in the rain, the feeling heightened by the cold and wetness.

They had shared so many memories in the rain. Perhaps it was not such an irony after all to say that their memories ended in the rain as well.

Fuji had been driving Ryoma home from the cinema. It was a wet, rainy day, the kind where it didn't quite _rain,_ but rather, gushed huge quantities of water that resembled an enormous pipe in the heavens being left on full. The water splashed off the windscreen, making clear vision near impossible.

The accident was, by any means, not Fuji's fault. It was one of those moments in life where Fate dealt a harsh hand, striking death to whomever it touched. And that day, it brushed Echizen Ryoma.

Fuji, when he woke up in hospital, knew exactly what had happened, without anyone telling him anything. His heart had seized up, locking itself into a tiny, hard ball of grief and suppressed fury. Life was never fair. It took away loved ones and granted life to murderers and common thieves. Life was a cruel Master, and now Fuji knew that better than anyone else.

Raindrops are chilly, but Fuji liked the feel of them against his skin.

It was his last remaining memory of Ryoma, the snarky brat whom he had loved and would have given his life for. He laid his forehead against the tombstone and wept, his tears mingling with the raindrops, invisible to others.

"_You can never truly love something until it has been taken away."_

**Quote from yours truly**

**I thought the earlier bits in the oneshot was kinda awkward. Comments and criticism would help. Angsty, but angst is good. If you catch typos could you be so kind as to let me know?**

**xEndx **_  
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